


Torture of the Physical and Psychological

by HolyKingWasteLand



Series: PTSD!Peter Strikes Again [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: 2nd chapter is recovery, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, And concerned father Tony, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety Attack/PTSD Attack/Panic Attack in Chapter 2, BAMF Peter Parker, Blood, Broken Bones, Dad!Tony Stark, Drowning, Electrocution, Flashbacks, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Lots, Massive Torture, Needles, PTSD Attack in Chapter 2, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Has a Family, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker-centric, Peter-centric, Seriously., Son!Peter Parker, Starvation, Surrogate family, Swearing, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Torture, Vomiting, Will add tags as I go, and nb, and others - Freeform, and women, be careful, mentions of vomiting, no beta we die like men, shocking, so much blood, torture fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 06:50:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14929286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolyKingWasteLand/pseuds/HolyKingWasteLand
Summary: Peter is kidnapped while walking home from school, and is tortured for an undetermined amount of time; until the Avengers find him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Tw's: Blood, Torture, Kidnapping, Mentions of Vomiting, Drowning, Major Profanity, Broken Bones, starvation, electrocution, needles, PTSD/Panic/Anxiety Attack in Chapter 2.
> 
> Sorry.

Peter is walking towards his apartment complex when something suddenly hits him across the back of the head, making him stumble to the ground. He tries to scream, but a gag is shoved into mouth and he's pulled into an alleyway. He fights against them, and makes one of the less butch-y guys fall over, giving him a narrow escape route.

But before he can run, someone shoves him into wall and his head crashes against it, effectively knocking him unconscious.

 

 .

 .

.

 

Peter's eyes open and it's pitch black.. and kinda hard to breathe. He struggles against the metal restraints on his hands, legs and chest, grunting frustratedly. Laughter echoes around the room and Peter stills, feeling his spider-senses going wild. "W..Who's there?" Peter whispers, muffled by the thing over his head.

"Peter Parker," A low voice- practically a growl- says, walking closer.

"W-who?," Peter breathes anxiously.

"We've heard a lot about you,  _Mr. Parker_ ," The voice hisses, ignoring the interruption, stomping his foot on the.. tiles? Whatever it is- it's loud and makes Peter flinch.

"I don't know what you're-" Peter cuts himself off, letting out a startled scream as the electric shocks course through his body.

 

"Shut up little boy," The man spits, pulling the itchy sack off of Peter's head, letting the light hit his eyes as he breathes raggedly, his body shaking as the pain dulls down. "I want you to tell me everything you know about Tony Stark. And maybe we'll let you die quickly." Peter stays silent, apart from his loud breathing.

"Answer me boy!" The man yells in frustration.

"Y-You just told me to shut up!" Peter yells back shakily, his voice cracking. The man sneers, Peter can see that much, but the lights above him make it hard to see around the dark edges of the room.

Peter gets a slap across his face as the man yells at him again, "You  _will_ tell me everything you know right now!"

 

Peter takes a steady breath and challenges the man. "And if I don't?" He asks, his voice steady. The man's eyes light up in delight, like he'd wanted this to happen. A dark smile creeps across the man's face and he gets close to Peter's ear, whispering softly,

"You're about to find out."

The bag is pulled back over his head and he's plunged into darkness once more. Hands grab at the chair he's tied to, and suddenly he's being dragged across the floor, grateful to his jeans for protecting his legs against the rough ground, that does  _not_ feel like tiling.

A door creeks as it opens, a woman speaks up. "Ah! So this is the infamous Peter Parker I've been hearing so much about!" Peter tenses and yanks at the thick chains on his wrists. The woman tuts, "No no, none of that Peter. Boys, tie him up over there- thank you." The way she says his name, it's as if she'd known him his whole life, and it makes Peter panic.

"Hey- let go of me!" Peter screams, thrashing in his restraints, making the man dragging him grunt with effort. "Shut up pipsqueak." He growls, letting the chair fall onto it's back as he fiddled with something that kept clanging together-  _metal,_ his mind supplies helpfully.  _Probably more chains._

 

Peter sucks in a tense breath and clenches his jaw tightly as they shock him with what might be a taser.  _Sure felt like one._  The shock ends and Peter opens his mouth, gasping in air weakly. Not five seconds later the shocking returns, this time Peter screams out in pain as his muscles tense painfully.

The shocking stops as someone starts to untie him, Peter wriggles pathetically, making the man laugh as he drags Peter's weak body over to a wall. He clasps big metal chains (that hang from the roof) around the boy's hands, making Peter grit his teeth at the pressure on his bruising wrists.

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it deary?" The woman's nonchalant voice (dare he say  _sweet_ ) returns as her heels click on the hard ground below them. "If you just  _cooperate_ , we won't have to do this." She almost sounds regretful, but Peter stays silent. A sigh. "Very well, don't say that I didn't give you a chance Peter."

Chains clamp down on his ankles and the bag is removed from his head. He closes his eyes at the intrusion of light and lets himself adjust to his surroundings as he slowly opens them.

 

A sanitary white room with blinding white lights up on the roof. A healthy looking lady stands a few metres away from him, a doctor's mask and gloves on as she focuses on something on a white wheel-y table. He looks up and sees the chains are reinforced iron, he pulls at them weakly, no budge. He curses silently and looks back at the woman, who is now staring at him with amused eyes.

"Oh, those will hold. Even with your..." She motions her arms around disinterestedly. "..Condition." Peter's eyes widen and she looks away again. "Mm yes, I know all about your  _extra_ -extracurricular activities. A certain arachnid?" _Shit shit shit shit-_ "Come now little spider, let's do a blood test." She looks over at her, her ponytail whipping around behind her as she swaggers over with a long needle in her right hand. Peter pushes against the floor with his feet, shifting up against the wall to get away from her. _  
_

She grabs his arm and squeezes in a certain spot a few times before inserting the needle. Peter looks away, knowing he'd do more harm than good if he struggled with that thing in him. She waits a moment before pulling the other part of the needle towards herself, pulling blood into the vial. "There's a good boy." She mumbles distractedly, pulling the needle out and walks back to the table.

 

The small puncture wound bleeds slightly and blood rolls down his arm, dripping onto the cold floor silently.

The woman squeezes the blood from the needle into a small, sanitary, unopened bottle. She puts the empty needle down and picks up a scalpel, turning back towards her victim. "Now, I'm going to be asking some questions, and I  _do_  hope you'll answer them." She says, chipper, walking over to Peter with the click of her heels once more. She kneels down on one knee and looks Peter in the eyes, softly dragging the tool across his cheek, making Peter flinch away, cutting it deeper.

She tuts and grabs him by the chin, turning him to face her, her eyebrows furrowed angrily. "Keep still Pete." She chastises, dragging another long cut from his right temple down to his chin. Peter bites his lip to stifle a whimper, sending her an angry glare in response, his nose scrunching up in pain.

 

She draws the tool-turned-weapon away from his face and looks into his eyes. "Now, I've got a few questions... it's recommended you answer them." She says, smiling under her doctor's mask.

Peter spits at her.

Her eyes narrow and she wipes the saliva off of her cheek. "Now, that was rude." She cuts deep into his arm and he grunts, trying to stifle his noise. "What do you know about the manufacturing side of Stark Industries?" She asks, scalpel hovering over his collarbone.

"Nothing."

She cuts over the bone and Peter doesn't indicate that he's felt it, she pulls away again. "It's not polite to lie to someone, Peter." She muses, dragging another cut near the previous one.

"I'm not."

The lady sighs disappointedly, moving away from him and back to her table. "Very well, I'll have to come at this another way..." She picks up her phone and seemingly texts someone, while Peter tries to activate his super-human healing. "Hm, alright. I'll be two minutes." She looks over at him, her eyes teasing. "Don't go anywhere~" Her heels click against the floor and she shuts the door behind her.

 

Peter grunts and tugs at the chains on his arms; they don't budge. He tries the ones on his ankles and gets the same result. His eyes dart around the room, praying for a way out of there but nothing comes. It's eerily silent, the only sounds being the girl's heels as she walks down the corridor.

_Someone will notice I'm missing. Tony will come, I just have to stay strong._

 

.

.

.

 

A couple hours later, two men enter the room and rough Peter up; one gives him a strong punch to the gut, while the other grabs him around the throat- effectively cutting off his airways. While he's being choked, the first guy take his time undoing the chains, and after a few minutes, Peter loses consciousness.

His only thought before nothingness was:  _help._

 

.

.

.

 

Peter comes to and becomes alert very quickly; none of his usual groaning and huffing when he wakes up in the morning.

 

"Ah, you're awake." Ponytail girl says clapping her gloved hands together. "Excellent! We can start," She motions to one of the guys and he grabs Peter by his upper arm. Peter then realises- that behind his back -his hands, and feet are bound, leaving him pretty much defenceless.

He's dragged up to a large metal tub, with water filled up to about an inch from the top. "Now this is all very simple, I'm going to ask you some questions and you're going to answer them in full. If you don't.. well," She motions to the tub with raised eyebrows. Peter swallows thickly.

"Alright! To start off," She looks down to a sheet of paper and reads off of it. "Where does he keep the instructions for how he made his Arc Reactor?"

 

"I don't know." Peter says honestly, while knowing full well that they won't believe him. The lady sighs and nods grimly. A second later and he's being shoved head first into the freezing cold water. He thrashes and tries to expel any water that got in but it's ineffective. He's held under for about ten seconds before he's pulled out again.

He chokes on the water in his lungs while gasping for air, tears stinging in his eyes.

She doesn't even give him a moment to collect himself before she's asking him another question. "Who is currently residing in the Avengers Compound?" She asks, looking towards him once more.

He shrugs (it's difficult because there's a guy holding onto him, but he makes it work).

 

"Use your words Peter," She patronises him.

"I. Don't. Know." He says, his voice becoming raspy from the water. She rolls her eyes at him and turns away to look at the paper again, if Peter didn't know better, he'd say she almost looked as if she didn't want to be doing this- His thoughts are cut off by the feeling of drowning once more.

 

 

This continues on for hours, until Peter's clothes are soaked and ponytail girl is yawning.

"Okay, that's enough for tonight. James will take you back to your cell and we'll pick up where we left off in the morning." She says, throwing down the paper on the table annoyedly. She makes her way out of the room and then "James" starts dragging the exhausted boy to his "cell".

He's dragged down endless hallways until they finally get to a room at the end of one. James unlocks the door and throws the boy inside forcefully, before he shuts and re-locks the door on his way out.

 

Peter lays on the cold floor, shivering in his wet clothing and he curls in on himself, muttering, "Tony will come, I just have to be brave until he does. Not long now.. You can do this Spider-Man.. You can do this Peter..."

He opens his eyes and lazily looks around the room, hoping for something- _anything-_  that might help him. But the room is bare, and pitch black. Only the tiniest bit of light coming through the bottom of the door. There's no windows that Peter can see, and there's no furniture either; probably so he doesn't try to knock someone out when they come inside.

With nothing better to do, Peter stays lying on the ground and let's his eyes shut. Sleep will be the only thing to keep him sane.

 

.

.

.

 

The door opens with a loud groan and Peter startles into consciousness at the noise. His sleep hadn't been eventful; he had no dreams or nightmares, just sweet blissful nothing.

"Time to get up, Spider." A man's voice cuts through the silence. Peter slowly opens his eyes, knowing there would be an intense light from the hallway. Everything hurts. The cuts all over his upper body have scabbed over, not fully healing because of his lack of sleep, and food and water. (well.. drinking water, that is.)

The man grabs him by his upper arm and begins dragging him from the room, Peter is once again thankful for his jeans; wet or not.

 

The guy opens a door and brings Peter into a room with a metal chair, not yet done up straps on the arms and legs of it. Peter immediately starts struggling, even while tied up he still put up a bit of a fight. "Stop squirming you piece of shit," The man hisses, dropping Peter on the floor as he gets the chair ready.

Peter fidgets on the ground but freezes upon hearing the familiar noise of heels clicking against the floor. The door opens a moment later and ponytail girl enters. "Oh, you're here. Good, we can start early then." She says, walking past without looking down at him. "Since the last two ways have been... ineffective. So today, we're trying something different!" The way she speaks so positively makes it sound like she's talking about a new video game she just bought.

 

Peter is lifted off of the ground by Muscular Guy™ and he holds him on the chair as another guy- equally as large- comes to help tie him down. Peter fights them, but it's not enough. The guy has a brutal hold on his throat and Peter gasps for air, allowing the guy to quickly untie and retie him to the chair.

It's a quick process but by the end of it, Peter's lungs are aching as well as his throat. Once they've tied his arms and legs down, they follow suit by tying his chest down as well; leaving his throat untouched, which confuses Peter.

He's securely fastened to the chair, and the girl stands next to him holding her usual papers, but they're clipped on a clipboard now, allowing her fast access.

 

"Okay, question time!" She smiles brightly, eyes flicking down to the paper. "What is the access code to Tony Stark's personal laboratory?" Peter just glares, bracing himself for whatever comes next. She blinks at him patiently. "Come on Peter, use your words. Just like I told you yesterday."

Peter clears his throat, looks her dead in the eyes and says, "No. Fuck you."

Ponytail girl's eyebrows raise and she nods once, stepping away from him. He feels a sense of dread fill his stomach and he turns his head to see one of the men holding a lever. His eyes widen and the man pushes the lever down strongly.

 

An ear-piercing scream fills the air. All of Peter's muscles tense at the force and he screams the whole way through the shock, only stopping once the electrocution ends. His chest heaves with tiny gasps of pain, his eyes watering as he tries to regain his breath.

The woman looks from him, to the papers in her hands and she asks another question, "What is the override code for Tony Stark's Iron Man Suit?"

Peter blinks away the tears, and takes deep measured breaths like Bruce showed him one time. "Peter." She says, prompting him to speak, almost like a therapist or teacher would.

"What?" His voice is raw, and his eyes hurt, and his muscles are surely torn.

"I asked you a question." _Was this lady like a teacher or something? She sure sounded like one._

Peter stays silent this time, his eyes shut tightly.

"Peter, answer me." She says, a false tone of patience in her voice. He knew she was getting irritated, he could hear by the clicking of her heels against the cold hard floor, echoing around the room.

"Screw you.." Peter practically breathes in reply. He hears a short  _huff_ and then feels the pain surge through him once more.

 

His raw voice screams through the silence and then he hears something  _crack._ The power to the chair cuts off and he lets himself catch his breath once more before looking down. His left arm is surging with pain and Peter fears he already knows why.

"Well, that didn't sound very nice did it?" She speaks with amusement lacing her tone.  _This bitch-_ His thoughts are cut off when she touches the injured part of his arm and he winces, looking away whilst biting his lip. "Brandon, crank it up a bit." Peter wants to cry out, to tell her not to- to tell her everything she wants to know so she'll stop... but even if he did that, he'd be killed afterwards, and then Tony and the rest of the Avengers would be targeted.. so he just has to... be... .strong....

His eyes are hazy and he tries to blink away the blackness creeping in, but a moment later and he's out cold.

 

.

.

.

 

He wakes up with a cry of pain and looks down to see his broken arm a deep purple-ish black (thanks to the minimal light). He knows he has to reset it; if he doesn't then the bone will heal wrong and they'll have to re-break it. He takes notice of how his feet are tied but his hands have been left untied.

_Probably because of the break.._

He shifts into a sitting position and grits his teeth, resting his arm in his lap as he gets ready to set it. He gently grabs his broken arm and counts down from three.

_Three.._

_Two-_

He sets his arm to the best of his ability and knowledge; Bruce only showed him how it worked a few times, and he'd never done it himself before (or in the dark for that matter). Tears cloud his dark vision and he bites out a pathetic cry. "You're okay, you're fine." Peter whispers to himself as he clutches his arm to his chest.

 

He stays completely still for a long while and lets his tears fall down his face to get rid of them. He lets out a stuttering breath and pulls his flannel over-shirt off, and carefully down his injured arm. He grabs a bit of the shirt with his usable hand and another bit with his teeth and he starts to rip it to make a makeshift bandage. He did  _not_ sit through hours of first aid just to end up not using it.

Once happy with the amount of cloth, he starts to wrap it around the bruised- recently broken -part. It hurts, god it hurts so bad. But right now, he needed to fix himself up.

_Tony will come. He always does._

That last part wasn't true. He had to fix himself up all alone after the Vulture Fight on the aeroplane; but that was beside the point. Tony would figure something out and come save him. He has to.

 

Once the shabbily made splint thing- without an actual splint- was on, he had to get a feel of his other injuries. He brushes up on his collar bone and winces as he feels the scabs still there. His healing factor was amazing when he's in tip-top shape, but it goes back to a human-rate when he doesn't get everything he needs; like food, water, and plenty of sleep.

He sighs and carefully lays back down against the cold floor, even colder now that he's only got a t-shirt on to cover his upper body. Sleep would do him some good. So he does.

 

.

.

.

 

He hears footsteps coming down the hallway and he doesn't even react. Days upon days of the same torture, over and over and _over_. Questions left, right and centre. He's been chained up against the wall because of an incident that happened yesterday. Or was it the day before? How long had he been here? He can't remember.

The guard was being a bit too rough with him and Peter ended up scratching his face; courtesy of his broken, jagged, unkempt nails.

He supposes it was his fault, but who cares, he sure doesn't. He wishes they would just kill him already and get it over with. They're getting nowhere with the questions. No matter what they do.

 

He hasn't been fed since he arrived, but they've been giving him minimal amounts of water to keep him alive. And despite wanting them to finally just kill him, the water is always too tempting and he drinks up every last drop; careful not to spill any.

The footsteps stop outside the door and a key jingles before it opens, leaving the boy blinded by the light.

"Come on you brat," Is all he says as he unlocks the chains and drags Peter along to another room, the original one, where he got cut up by a psychotic bitch.

He is re-cuffed to the ceiling and floor and is told to wait there as he goes and gets her.

 

Peter has learned not to struggle when they cuff him up. He's too weak to do any real damage- or escape- and all he gets out of it is a bruised throat, or unconsciousness if he's lucky.

He hears the familiar  _click click click_ of her high heels and he flinches. The door opens and she enters, the same guy as before comes in after her and shuts the door. He's pretty sure these rooms are soundproof, but he can't be certain.

"So what are we doing today then?" He says, voice still raw from yesterday's session. She ignores him, her patience for Peter has long since broken. She puts on some ear-mufflers and sunglasses and Peter immediately tenses. Of _course_ she's going to use his senses to her advantage.

The other two guys in the room follow suit and put on their own gear. Peter sucks on his lip nervously. This was new. He didn't like this. This isn't good-

A loud ear-piercing noise filters through his ears and he grunts, trying to cover his ears with his shoulders but it's not working. It's like it's melting his brain. He whimpers and shakes his head to try and rid himself of the noise, but its no use. 

 

The next thing is the lights; if Peter thought they were bright before- he was mistaken.

The blinding white lights burn his eyes and he quickly shuts them tight, feeling them water at the intensity. This goes on for a few minutes and then everything turns off, leaving Peter's senses screaming and he starts thrashing in his binds slamming himself against the wall behind him with everything he can.

"Subdue him!!" The woman yells, and the next thing he feels is arms holding him against the wall so he can't move, and there's a needle in his arm. The world seems to go blurry and he slumps in his binds, darkness taking over his vision once more.

 

.

.

.

 

He sits against the cold wall, his arms hanging from thick chains above his head, and his ankles are chained to the floor. Things have been silent for a few days- or what feels like a few days. He's been coming in and out of consciousness and he doesn't have a window to check the days that pass.

His eyes hurt, and his ears have been bleeding on and off for a while now. He's given up on being saved. After being tortured for so long, he just wants the sweet sweet release of death. He shuts his eyes and lets out a struggling breath. These days haven't been kind to him, very much the opposite. They've given him half a loaf of old mouldy bread and he's been picking around the mould and eating small portions of the good parts, knowing full well that if he tried to eat all of it at once he'd end up puking it all back up.

He thinks that he's vomited in the time he's been here, but he can't remember a specific time. He just remembers the feeling and then the pungent smell.

 

Peter opens his eyes and hums very softly to himself, it's really the only thing that's been keeping him sane all this time. But his raw throat makes it hard to do so.

His ears are filled with blood and are probably broken or something, but he can slightly hear muffled shouting. If they were shouting then.. someone's had a bad day, and Peter's gonna be at the end of it. He briefly wonders if they'd whip, or shoot him this time. He still has the cuts on his back from countless whipping "sessions". And a hole in his leg from a bullet wound, one that he'd managed to patch up messily with some fabric. He's pretty sure it's infected but he can't do anything about it so he doesn't want to look.

 

His mind circles in on the noise and he hears heavy footsteps running towards the door, he stays still, not having the strength to move, and he's not really afraid of them anymore. After everything he's been through.. He just doesn't care anymore.

The door bursts open and he instinctively looks away from the light; his eyes still sensitive from the abuse. The man seems to falter in the doorway and sucks in a sharp breath.

"Fuck, we doing this today? Who's it this time? Alan, or that brunette _bitch_?" Peter's husky voice spits venomously.

The man quickly comes forward and Peter can hear the sound of metal, but he doesn't look. Peter grunts and spits out a bit of blood from his mouth onto the ground. "I'm not telling you fuckers _anything_ , so you can leave me the _hell_ _alone_." He growls as the man kneels down in front of him. That's a first.

"Peter I'm going to unchain you now, but I need you to be very still." The man says, and the voice sort of sounds familiar but everyone seemingly sounds familiar to him now, so he brushes it aside.

 

"I'd sooner put a bullet in my leg than listen to you- oh wait, _you already fucking did that_." Peter yells, his voice hoarse and scratchy. He doesn't hear anything else but feels soft but calloused hands reaching to unchain his wrists. Peter's arms fall down into his lap and he makes a  _tch_ sound at the pain it brings. His hands have been chained up there for days, and the sudden change  _hurts._

He next unchains Peter's ankles and helps the boy to lie flat on his back. Peter hisses in pain, both at the whip cuts and the fact that he's been in that position for days and everything is so _sore_.

Peter blinks open his eyes and they're unfocused like they always are, but he sees the man lean into his.. wrist? His arm? Peter isn't sure but he doesn't really care anyways.

He hears more loud footsteps and then another male figure appears in the door.

 

"Did you find him?" The figure from the hallway calls. The man beside Peter nods and says something that he doesn't catch. The hallway man runs off again.

"I don't care what you do to me." Peter says, his voice so small but so strong and unwavering. He shuts his eyes to focus on speaking- this is more than he's spoken in days- "I'm not telling you anything at all. I thought you would know that by now." 

"About what?" The voice says softly, or maybe that's just because his hearing is muffled.

"You know what. About Iron Man- Tony Stark. You'll just have to finally kill me like you promised, because I'm not saying a damn fucking thing." Peter grits, his voice low and threatening.

 

The man is shell-shocked. "P-Peter?" He whispers so quietly the boy almost doesn't catch it.

Peter opens his eyes and looks up at the man with cold unfocused eyes. "Just get it over with.. Or are we going to do another torture session today? Man you guys never give up-" Peter laughs and ends up coughing up a bit of blood. "I'm almost impressed."

" _Torture_? Oh my god Peter what did they do to you..?" The man sounds so concerned about the word and Peter almost wants to laugh again.

"So you're the new guy? Well get used to it pal, I'm your new chew toy." Peter chuckles emptily.

 

He sees the man move to his other side and the light reflects on his face, allowing Peter to finally see him. His eyes widen and he inhales shakily.

"T..Tony?"

"Yeah kid, yeah I'm right here." Tony says gently, and Peter can see tears reflecting in his eyes.

Peter reaches up towards the man, fearing him only a hallucination but that all gets thrown away when Tony's strong calloused hands wrap around his own fragile ones. Tony pulls Peter's arm up to his face and plants a gentle kiss on the boy's knuckles, and that just opens the floodgates.

Tears stream down his face as he finally allows himself to be weak, he clutches Tony's hand like a lifeline as he sobs.

 

"O-oh Tony- I-I was so _s-_ _scared_. They did such awful things to-to me-" Tony hushes him and pushes back his sweaty hair, letting his hand rest against the boy's cheek.

"It's okay Peter, it's okay- you- you're gonna be okay. I promise, everything's fine now." Tony promises and they sit together for a few minutes while they wait for Bruce and the Med-team to arrive.

 

Finally the team arrives and Bruce doesn't even hesitate, taking charge and they get Peter up onto the stretcher. Bruce puts an oxygen mask over Peter's face after noticing his trouble breathing. They start pushing the stretcher and they rush down hallway after hallway. Tony runs alongside them, keeping his hand firmly in Peter's.

The rest of the Avenger's team meets up with them and shows them the fastest way out to the Quinjet.

They finally get outside without running into anymore of his torturers; the team already had them "taken care of". They bring him into the Quinjet and get his stretcher stable. They all pile in and Bruce orders someone qualified to fly the jet while Tony is busy with Peter.

Amidst all of the noise and hustle, Peter moves the oxygen mask so he can speak. "T-thank you.. All of you," He whispers, but it still gains all of their attention. They each give him a nod, or smile in response and he rests the mask back on his face. Tony grips his hand tightly and watches at Peter falls back into unconsciousness, a faint smile on his face.

Tony's chest feels a little lighter and he lets a smile grace his face for the first time since he got the call from May almost two weeks ago.

They finally got him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My Tumblr!](https://holykingwasteland.tumblr.com/)


	2. The Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ya'll asked for another chapter, and I have provided!! Thank you so much for all the feedback on my previous fic, I love each and every one of your comments! :D<
> 
> Side note: I am in no way a medical professional, so some (if not most) of this is going to be wrong~ thank you x

The first time Peter remembers wakes up is to a dark room, something covering his mouth, and a bunch of wires and pipe-things coming out of him. Panic sets in. His heart rate jumps drastically and his breathing gets quick. He feels something on his hand get tighter- someone's hand? It feels like it.

"Peter, it's okay, you're in the med-bay at the Avenger's Compound." A male soothing male voice says. Peter swallows thickly and tries to calm his racing heart. He hears the man say something else but he can't make out what is said. A moment later and the light comes back; very slowly, to allow Peter's overstimulated senses to get used to them. Peter turns to the man holding his hand and sees Tony sitting next to him, bloodshot eyes and a tight smile.

"Tony?" He slurs, blinking slowly. Tony nods. "What're you doin' here..? Brr.. It's so cold.." Peter shivers and feels the hospital-esque blanket get pulled up under his arms.

 

"Do you need more blankets? I'm sure I could sneak some in here- ah who am I kidding, I own the building! I don't need to sneak around," Tony's voice is tense but playful, like he's trying to make the atmosphere more friendly for Peter. Peter's lip quirks up slightly but his smile is interrupted by a yawn.

Tony looks at him for a moment before giving him an easy smile, "I'm gonna go get you some more blankets, you just take it easy okay? May should be here soon-"

Peter perks up. "May? Is she here? Oh I missed her so much Tony.. I missed you so much too, I knew you'd come save me.." Peter is quite out of it, and with all the meds they've hooked him up to, Tony is surprised he's even awake.

The older male lets out a soft chuckle and brushes the boy's hair out of his face. "Yeah buddy, she'll be here real soon. I promise." Tony says softly, stepping away from the boy but is stopped by Peter's hand clutching his. "Kid?"

There are tears in Peter's eyes and Tony quickly sits on the edge of the bed, holding his hand reassuringly. "What's wrong Pete?"

 

Peter sniffles and blinks, the tears dripping down his face slowly. "I just... It was so.. _bad_ in there Tony. And I can't stop thinking about it-" Peter cuts himself off with a cry and the heart monitor spikes up again. No doubt Bruce would be in there soon.

"Shh, it's okay Peter, you're not there anymore. You're right here, with me." Tony hushes, wiping away stray tears from the boy's face.

Peter looks up at him with trusting eyes and whispers, "With you?"

 

Tony nods and presses a chaste kiss to the boy's knuckles, hoping to provide some comfort. Peter smiles very softly and his eyes start drooping again. Tony smiles back at him and rests a hand against the boy's cheek, not really the best at physical contact, but Peter leans into it so he assumes he's done something right.

A minute later and Peter is out. Then a minute after that, Bruce enters the room.

"He woke up?" Bruce asks as he fiddles with some of the machinery. Tony nods silently, letting Peter's hand rest against his stomach instead of in his own. "Did he say if he was in any pain? I might have to put up the medication if that's the case."

Tony clears his throat of the thickness and stands up. "No, he just said he was cold. And then started talking about how bad it was back in that... fucked up place." Tony spits the last few words, he almost wishes he could've beaten up a few more of them, but they lacked any real fight.

 

Bruce nods and rests a hand on Tony's shoulder. "We're lucky we got there when we did, I don't think Peter could have survived in those conditions much longer. A day or two at max." Bruce informs him, making Tony tense. "You should go tell the rest of the team that he's doing okay now. I'll handle the blankets." The doctor gives him a smile and Tony returns it tiredly.

"Sure thing doc," Tony says as they exit the room, Tony looks back at the sleeping figure only once. Anger and sorrow fills his heart, "..We should have gotten there sooner."

"Tony, we did everything we could. They were very good at keeping their tracks hidden, if it were anyone else looking, I don't think they would have found it."

"I know that!" Tony snaps, but his shoulders sag. "But Bruce... that was on me."

 

Bruce closes the door with a click and they keep walking down the hallway. "Tony, I know you have a thing for self-destruction.. But that was not on you-" Tony cuts him off.

"You should've heard him! 'I'm not telling you anything about Tony Stark, you'll have to kill me', how is that _not_ on me?" He asks, scrubbing his palms into his eyes to try and stop the tears from coming out.

"There was nothing you could have done to prevent this, those sick bastards are at fault here. You did everything right Tony." Bruce insists, stepping into the elevator with his friend.

Tony lets his hands fall to his sides and he looks down at the floor silently.

 

Bruce fiddles with a clipboard before handing it to Tony. "This is a list of everything that happened to Peter; written to the best of our ability. We won't know if it's 100% accurate until Peter is conscious enough to tell us exactly what happened." Bruce tells him. Tony takes the clipboard and looks down at the paper, feeling his jaw clench at the amount of bullet-points and words across the page. He feels physically ill.

 

The elevator dings and Tony steps out, giving a brief goodbye to Bruce as the doctor continues onto another floor to find blankets.

Tony walks down the hallway, keeping his eyes trained on the paper, and walks into the living room. He looks up and sees the Avenger's Team sitting around the room with variations of exhaustion in their expressions.

Clint looks over as Tony enters and speaks up, "How is he?" The rest of the team looks over and suddenly it's as if all of their previous exhaustion evaporates into focused attention. Tony glances back down at the paper and starts reading off Peter's injuries.

 

"

  * Over-stimulation to his senses, namely his hearing and sight.
  * Severe bruising to his throat, collar bone, ribs, left arm, both wrists, both ankles, and lower stomach. With not as severe bruising to the rest of his body. 
  * 6 Broken ribs, 7 cracked.
  * Perforated (ruptured) eardrum.
  * Water in the lungs.
  * Fractured skull.
  * Deep cuts across face, neck, collar bone, arms, and legs.
  * Infected bullet wound in lower right leg.
  * Broken bone in right forearm - was supposedly set by patient.
  * Whip lash marks across whole back.
  * Malnourished and dehydrated.
  * Majorly sleep deprived.
  * Punctured left lung. 



" He finishes listing off the injuries and wipes his eyes tensely. The others in the room are looking exactly how Tony's feeling; angry, hurt, sad, disgusted.. "He's so fucking _young_. This never should have happened-" He turns away from them to collect himself. He feels a hand on his shoulder and he turns to see Rhodey standing there with misty eyes. Peter means so much to all of them, and the fact that he wen't through something so horrible..

Tony wraps his arms around Rhodey and cries silently into his shoulder, taking the comfort he's given. He can hear people moving around the room, and talking, and some even crying; but he blocks it all out and just clings tightly to Rhodey.

 

.

.

.

 

The second time Peter remembers wakes up, he's a bit more calm. It's not pitch black anymore, and artificial light glows from the ceiling dimly, allowing his eyes to open freely and without pain. The blankets feel heavier than last time. He looks down and sees there are a few more blankets covering him, and he basks in their warmth.

He also feels a hand in his own, but not a large hand like before. This hand is soft, and smaller than Tony's. His head lolls to the side and he gets a clear view of a sleeping May. A smile lights up his face and before he can think about it, he squeezes her hand. She immediately jolts awake and looks at him, her eyes similar to Tony's in the fact that they're bloodshot and tear-filled.

"Peter? Oh my god baby-" She quickly moves to sit on the bed and -without aggravating his injuries- hugs him protectively. "I was so worried! When you weren't home when I got back I just thought you must have gone out patrolling- but then it was coming on four AM and I was scared you'd gotten into trouble! So I called Tony and told him you hadn't come home all night and he said that you couldn't be out because  _he_ had your suits at the Compound for upgrades!" She rambles on as tears stream down her face.

 

Peter- to the best of his abilities- hugs her back relishes in her just.. being there. She kisses the side of his head and then goes back to hugging him, still rambling on about how worried she was. "Once Tony told me they couldn't find you-" She breaks off in a sob. " _I thought you were dead, Pete_." She whispers, clutching him tightly.

 _So did I._ Peter thinks but doesn't say.

 

Aunt May finally relinquishes her iron-grip on him and opts to just sit on the bed as she messes with his hair. "As soon as you're allowed to- you're taking a bath. I just hope we can fix this mane of yours.." May says, amusement in her tone. Peter chuckles and then coughs painfully. May quickly fetches him a glass of water and lets him calm down before he takes a small sip.

"Thanks May," He says softly, his smile so small.

"Of course baby, anything you need, just say the word and I'll go get it." There's so much love in her voice that Peter has to blink away oncoming tears. He missed her so much.

He shakes his head softly, "I'm okay,"

May smiles tearfully and nods, cupping her nephew's cheek. "Yeah, you are Peter." She says with so much conviction that it makes his heart ache. Maybe he really was okay.. "How about you get some more sleep, hm? You'll be up and around in no time!"

 

Peter chuckles weakly and nods, letting his eyes fall shut. "I love you, May.." He whispers and lets sleep take hold- but he hears one final thing,

"Love you too, Peter."

 

.

.

.

 

It's been 75 hours. Peter has been in and out of consciousness as they fed him via IV fluids, considering he wouldn't be able to keep anything down after weeks of starvation. He's finally gotten some of his strength back, and thanks to the fluids, he's been healing up nicely.

He hasn't been allowed to see many of the team. May has been glued to his side since she arrived, Bruce comes and goes when he's giving checkups or changing the IV bags, and Tony.. Well, for the first day or so after Peter was finally not doped up on pain meds, he didn't see him at all. He felt kind of sad that Tony wasn't with him but he didn't want to be clingy so he stayed quiet.

During the second day, Tony still hadn't shown up. So Peter asked May about it. He closes his eyes and remembers.

 

 _"Hey May?.." Peter asks_ _tentatively. May immediately looks up from her book with a kind smile, she hums to tell him she's listening. "Um... Do you... Does Mr. Stark.. not want to see me?" He's trying to mask the hurt he feels about the question._

_"Oh no, no, honey! I think Tony's just.. busy with work!" She says, trying to sooth his worrying. He nods and she goes back to reading, but he doesn't really believe her._

 

_A few minutes later, the door opens and Tony pokes his head in. He's covered in sweat and oil, deep bags under his tired eyes, he smiles at them. "Hey kid," He greets and enters the room, sitting on the chair opposite May's._

_Both adults see how Peter visibly lights up at the sight of his mentor, but don't mention it. "Hey Mr. Stark!" Peter says with a smile, but as he takes a good hard look at the man it falters. "Are you okay?"_

_Tony seems startled by the question but regains his composure. "I think I'm supposed to be asking you that, Spiderling." He quips playfully. Peter narrows his eyes at him and reaches out his hand towards Tony. Tony quickly grabs it, probably too quickly, judging by the look on Peter's face; like he can read the man like an open book._

_Peter turns towards May, "Hey aunt May, how about you go get yourself something to eat? Tony can watch over me while you're gone." He suggests. May blinks at him before nodding, she puts her book down on her seat and excuses herself. But not before giving Peter a kiss to his forehead, and a quiet "love you"._

 

_Once May is out of the room, Peter turns towards his mentor. "Nightmares?" He asks gently, clutching Tony's hand a little tighter in a comforting way. The man seems to hesitate so Peter continues, "I get them too. Thinking I'm still back there.. But you can tell me, Mr. Stark."_

_Tony bites his lip before giving a counter offer. "Fine, I'll tell you" Peter's face lights up, "-but_ only  _if you stop calling me 'Mr. Stark'. Makes me feel old."_ Makes me remember my dad _, goes unsaid._

_Peter weighs his options before sighing, a small smile on his lips. "Okay Tony." The man smiles brightly._

_"See, that wasn't so hard!" He ruffles the boy's hair, mindful of the healing wound there._

_"Okay okay! Stop trying to avoid the subject,_ Tony. _" He drags out the 'y' in Tony's name, making the older man pull a face._

 

_Tony lets out a little sigh. "I.. I don't know what you want me to say kid."_

_Peter clutches his hand a little tighter. He looks into Tony's eyes fiercely._

_"..I just... Every time I fall asleep, I dream that we don't find you in time. Or that we don't_ ever  _find you." Tony barks out a scared laugh. "And it just makes me too scared to go to sleep. I guess." Tony finishes softly, his eyes trained on the floor below them; he keeps a strong hold on Peter's hand._

_Peter is quiet for a long time after his confession; thinking, most likely, about what to say._

 

_"I... I can't really say anything to help, because it's your subconscious fear that feeds the nightmares.. But if it helps, you can try to sleep now Tony, and I'll be right here when you wake up." Peter's voice is strong, and Tony looks up to see his kind eyes staring back. Tony wants to decline the offer, but thinks it unwise from the look Peter is giving him. So he gives in._

_With a loving_ huff,  _Tony puts his elbows on the bed and rests his head on top of them, making sure their hands stay connected and he isn't uncomfortable. Peter raises his other hand and rests it on Tony's head, running his fingers through the man's hair, hoping to provide some comfort._

_And within moments, the man is asleep._

 

Peter opens his eyes again and looks over at May, who's smiling at him. "Good morning, sweetie." She greets, stretching in her seat. "Doctor Banner said that you're clear to have a bath if you want. Said your injuries are 'healing up nicely.'" Peter nods after a brief moment of consideration, and May walks out of the room to fetch the doctor.

 

They both come back within a few minutes and Bruce starts un-clipping certain wires, and takes out the IV. "Since we've given your body time to adjust to the nutrients, you should be able to eat actual food today. Just try not to gorge yourself, because it probably won't stay down." He explains, helping Peter to stand, May helping him on his other side.

Peter nods as he takes in the information; knowing that if he forgot, he could always ask FRIDAY to repeat the man's words.

The two adults help Peter to the bathroom (it seems that not using your legs for a few days after previous abuse leaves them feeling numb), and Bruce leaves to let May handle it.

 

Peter sits on the toilet lid and May starts up the bath. She knows Peter would usually ask for bubbles, but considering his wounds that are still healing, that might make the injuries sting.

After the water is at a reasonable level, May helps Peter out of his hospital gown (Stark style, boo-yah!) and gasps as she sees the whip marks for the first time. Peter quickly pulls it off and climbs into the warm water, not even wincing when his cuts come in contact with the hot water. (That sort of concerns May.)

Peter sits in the bath as May pours water onto his hair, and applies shampoo, before carefully massaging it into his hair. His skull was healing up like the rest of his body, and mind you, he can't even remember when or how he cracked it. He doesn't know if it was when they threw him into his cell countless times, or when he slammed himself against the wall repeatedly to try and stop hurting.

He gets lost in thought while May does his hair, carefully combing it with the conditioner to get out all of the knots. They're in a comfortable silence but Peter has questions.

 

"When can I leave the med-bay?" He asks softly, May pauses and thinks.

"I'm not sure honey. When you're done, and dressed, I'll ask Doctor Banner." She says, resuming washing his hair.

"When I'm cleared to leave.. are we going home?" The thought and feeling behind the word 'home' used to bring Peter joy. He was happy to come back to his and May's apartment.. but _now,_ when he thinks about going home... he has a feeling of dread in his stomach. He's scared, and he hates it.

May seems to hesitate. "I... Tony and I.. We think it would be safer if you and I.. stayed here." Yes, _god yes,_  he loved that idea. The feeling of imminent danger finally subsides after hearing those words. "Don't you think?"

He nods, a relieved smile on his face. May's own smile mirrors his. "Good- that's good. You'll still be going to your school.. once you're ready to go back, there's no pressure," She adds after feeling Peter tense under her fingers. "And Happy will drive you to and from school. We.. we all think it's the safest option." Peter is ecstatic!

"Yeah, I think that would.. be best too." He smiles gratefully up at his Aunt and she smiles lovingly back down at him.

 

He finishes rinsing his hair and washes his body carefully, then gets out and dries himself.

"Okay, there's clothes just there on the counter," She points to a pile of his clothing, they're pyjamas but he's not complaining. "And I'm going to go find the doctor and bring him in, just go sit on the bed when you're done." She kisses his temple and closes the bathroom door as she leaves.

Peter dresses himself quickly, but carefully, and then walks back out to sit on his hospital bed, feet dangling over the side.

 

A few minutes later, Bruce and May come back in and Bruce gives him a final checkup. (There will no doubt be more, but this will  _hopefully_ be the last one while he's confined to the hospital bed)

Bruce pulls the stethoscope away from Peter's chest with a smile. "I think it should be fine to let you go, but we'll have to do frequent checkups to make sure that everything is healing, okay?" Bruce explains with a smile. Peter smiles and nods, excited to finally be leaving. Bruce steps away and puts the stethoscope around his neck. "Well then, I think that's all Peter, Mrs. Parker." Peter stands up and they turn to leave when Bruce speaks up again.

"Oh, and I think you should go and see the team," He says with a gentle smile. "They're all really worried about you."

Peter's eyes widen slightly and he nods. They thank Bruce and leave the med-bay, Peter making a beeline for the elevators. May laughs as she's dragged along, "Why are you running Peter? You're going to irritate your injuries!" There's no real bite to it, but he can hear the concern so he slows down.

"Sorry, sorry! I just- I feel bad for worrying them.." Peter explains, pulling his aunt into the elevator with him. She smiles down warmly at her nephew and presses a kiss to his hair.

"I larb you, Peter," She says, and Peter grins.

"I larb you too, aunt May," He responds, pulling her into a hug. She carefully wraps her arms around him in response.

 

They pull away as the doors open, and Peter starts bouncing on his heels as they make their way down the hallway. They can hear soft chatter from the team lounge, and Peter feels even more excitement bubbling up inside him. He enters the room, still holding onto May's hand and everyone's eyes fall to him.

"Peter!" Clint yells, his eyes wide. He jumps over the back of the couch and barrels towards Peter, but slows down just before he reaches him. He puts his hands on the kids shoulders and gives him several looks over, concern written all over his face. "Are you okay?? Bruce wouldn't let anyone but family or doctors into the room! We've been so worried about you!" 

Peter feels his face heat up at the attention and lets go of May's hand to hug Clint. The Avenger carefully pulls the boy into his chest; wrapping his arms around his shoulders. The other Avengers in the room come over, namely: Steve, Natasha, Bucky, and Sam.

They each give the boy hugs of their own and gentle words of comfort.

"Tony came in a few days ago, listing off all of your injuries..." Steve trails off shaking his head, and he looks away, pain in his eyes. Bucky rests a comforting hand on Steve's shoulder.

"I'm.. Surprised you're up and walking around, kid." Sam says, tousling Peter's hair carefully, taking note of Peter's head injury. Peter giggles and swats halfheartedly at Sam's hand.

 

Peter's senses kick in and he hears the elevator hiss open. He turns his head quickly towards the doorway and a few seconds later, Tony appears, breathing heavily. Peter's face lights up and they walk (well Tony runs-) towards each other and practically cling to each other. Peter wraps his arms around Tony's chest tightly and buries his face in the man's shoulder; Tony hugs him back very carefully but firmly.

After a moment, they both pull away, but still hold onto each other's arms to stay close. Grounded.

"You're walking around now? Are you sure? What about your injuries?" Tony starts fussing, looking the boy over again and again. Softly in the background Clint mutters, "so much for not being a dad.." Tony pays him no mind.

"Bruce cleared me, said that everything was healing well." Peter says nodding softly. Tony immediately feels a rush of relief and allows himself to smile. Peter's face mirrors his own; and then tugs him in for another hug. Tony laughs and hugs him back, trying to blink back tears.

He hears several "aww"'s and silently agrees with them.

 

.

.

.

 

Peter sits at the dining table with the rest of the team. Everyone is piling food onto their plates (since being a superhuman is hungry work) and Peter just can't find the stomach to eat more than a few bits of chicken and veggies. The others are sending him questioning looks; seeing as he's normally up to eating almost everything on the table.

"Pete? You not hungry?" Clint asks, his fork paused in the air, holding a piece of chicken on it. Peter shakes his head, spooning a carrot into his mouth. The others share a look but don't say anything, so Peter speaks up to clear the air.

"Doctor Banner said that I shouldn't go out and eat a bunch of food, because my body won't be used to it yet. That I have to build it back up," There's still a lingering thought that gets confirmed by those at the table.  _He was starved._

It wasn't that hard to see that he hadn't eaten, since his body mass had gone down considerably until he was pretty much just skin and bone. Even when Bruce had confirmed in his notes that the boy had indeed been malnourished and dehydrated, they still didn't want to believe it. But here it was, the truth, staring them in the face.

"That's totally fine kiddo, take your time." Tony says from beside him; he'd called whatever chair was beside the boy, and May had called the other. Peter smiles at him appreciatively and goes back to eating. The others are sending concerned and borderline pitying looks, but Peter doesn't meet their eyes..

..He doesn't know what he'll find there.

 

.

.

.

 

"Your skull fracture looks to be all healed up now, along with most of your other injuries." Bruce says as he flicks through Peter's file, looking at X-Rays and notes from other doctors- and even though Tony specifically asked Bruce to be the one to treat and look after him, the doctor says it's always to have good second opinions.

"The marks on your back are still healing, so it's best to keep those wrapped up... and there's still a bit of bruising on your ribs, so no 'Spider-Manning' until you're cleared by me, okay?" A nod. "Good, then you're all free to go, just make sure to be careful of your wounds Peter."

"Got it!"

There's a brief moment of silence, with Bruce just looking at him curiously, but he nods nevertheless. "Okay, Peter, I just have to go over some stuff with you aunt- Tony's free to stay if he wants to as well- so if you could wait outside please?" Bruce says, motioning a bit awkwardly to the door. Peter nods again and hops off of the hospital-esque bed, bidding farewell to the doctor, as well as a quick thank you; he goes and sits outside.

 

Whether they remember or not, Peter has super hearing even through the closed door. He doesn't exactly focus on their words but when he hears Bruce say, "Signs of PTSD will most definitely arise," he's a little confused.

Signs of PTSD? _Post Traumatic Stress Disorder_. He guesses that what Bruce means, is that he's going to be like the others. Nightmares, PTSD attacks are a probability.. It comes with the job, he guesses, his shoulders sagging slightly. He tries to preoccupy himself with something, so he talks to FRIDAY about the weather.

"It's currently raining outside, with a temperature of 42°F*," FRIDAY informs him.

"Thanks Fri,"

"No problem, Peter."

 

May soon exits the room and pulls Peter up, Tony following close behind. "Hey, how about we go watch a movie?" May proposes, and receives a nod of confirmation from Peter. She smiles lightly and pulls both boys along with her to the lounge room once more.

 

They get to the living space and see Vision, Wanda, and Natasha already seated and doing their own things. All three of them sit down on the three-seated lounge and Tony turns on the TV; he starts flicking through options as Peter's eyes lazily try to keep up.

"Anything in particular?" Tony asks, turning to the boy seated in between the two adults, leaning against Tony's side and not the back of the couch to avoid any irritation to his injuries. Peter shrugs. He hears an inaudible (to the human ear) sigh from the man and Tony just puts on Star Trek.

They make it in ten minutes before Peter falls asleep.

 

.

.

.

 

They've all been treating him differently.

It started with Sam, Bucky, and Clint no longer teasing him like they used to. Sure they'll ruffle his hair or poke him, but they don't throw the remote to each other to keep Peter from changing the channel. They don't make fun of his growing mane of hair. They now bite their tongues when they would usually be sarcastic and snarky with him.

Then it grew to Steve and Natasha being hesitant to touch him, when they would normally pick him up (Steve) or wrestle him on the couch for the last potato chip (Natasha).

Vision stayed pretty much the same, but Wanda's presence became scarce. She no longer used magic around him, when he saw her. And she would never initiate physical contact.

In fact.. now that he thought about it... no one initiated physical contact with him. Like they were afraid he would break under their touch.

And he sort of gets it; his body mass isn't at it's usual, and he's not exactly eating as much as he used to, (he's strictly following Bruce's orders to listen to his body, and know when enough is enough) but he's not made of  _glass._

 

Even Tony and May have been acting weird. They don't yell around each other, and May doesn't bite off Tony's ear whenever Peter is in earshot, which in turn, means Tony doesn't do his natural smile and deflect with a compliment.

Everything is off. And it makes Peter feel weird- anxious would be the right term.

 

It makes his chest ache when he thinks about it-  _they're different because of him._ Rhodey has been away on official business, and that's the most normal Peter's had since he's been back.

He just wants things to go back to the way they were.

 

.

.

.

 

Peter and the rest of the team are in the lounge room; Peter seated next to Sam on the couch. Both of them reach to grab the remote, and Sam quickly pulls away, motioning for him to take it. Peter frowns and pulls his hand away as well, also motioning towards it. "Take it," Peter says, leaning backwards against the couch.

"Nah, it's fine kid. You can pick," Sam replies, also leaning back, hands behind his head. They hold each others gaze but Sam looks away first, making no move to touch the remote.

Peter huffs quietly and speaks up, "You know, I'm not made of glass right?" He asks, making the others look over at him with semi-wide eyes. "I'm not going to break if you touch me." Peter's voice is angry, and he glares at anyone who meets his eyes, daring them to say something.

"Of course not kiddo," Tony says gently from the armchair next to them.

Peter turns to glare at him too. "Yeah? Well you're all being too... too.. nice! I can handle the teasing! I don't want you to look at me and just see a broken little _boy_!" Peter yells, directing his glare at the others; they flinch under his fierce stare. "You're all acting differently, and it's driving me crazy!"

They all look away from his eyes, looking appropriately abashed. Peter sighs and pulls his knees up into his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around them. He closes his eyes and there is silence.

 

 _Click click click._ Peter's breath hitches in his throat at the sound of high heels tapping against the floor. His eyes open and he's no longer in the lounge room with his favourite people- was he ever? Did they even come for him? Was this all just a dream to keep him sane? They hadn't come for him after all...

He shoots off of the ground, his head whipping towards the door and he sees that he's in the pristine white room where they first abused him. The footsteps are getting louder, and so is the pounding in Peter's heart. He runs over to the nearest wall and presses himself in the corner, taking on a defensive position. Not again, never again.

He sees the big guard guys come into the room and he swallows shakily, ignoring how badly he wants to cry. They walk closer to him, and one puts his hand on Peter's shoulder. Peter reels his right leg back and kicks him hard in the chest, sending the man flying backwards. The other guy takes a step back and kneels beside his fallen comrade.

"Peter?" The guy groans on the ground, sitting up with the help of the other one.

"Shut up, stay the fuck away from me!" Peter yells, bringing his hands up in a defensive position.

"Whoa, what's going on with Peter?" Another guy calls from across the room, Peter's head shoots up and looks at them, calculating how many threats are in the room, and how long he'll have to fight until he collapses from exhaustion.

"Peter, whatever you're seeing- it isn't real." The guy on the ground says to him, and Peter falters but his face continues to portray his anger.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Peter screams, clamping his hands over his ears and slams himself into the wall.

"-Stop him-" "-Peter!-"

He feels arms lock around his own arms and he opens his eyes fearfully to see a big man standing in front of him.

 

"Get the fuck off of me." Peter breathes, his eyes flickering over to the door every few seconds until he finds what he's looking for. That fucking bitch enters the room; her heels  _click click clicking_ against the floor. "It's you! Oh great, just fucking fantastic. What questions do you have for me today, huh? Cause I'm. Not. Answering!"

Ponytail bitch looks confused as she holds papers in her hands, even a little scared.

"Peter, calm down-"

"Oh fucking bite me Oliver!" Peter snaps in the man's face, baring his teeth. "Let go of me! Let go!" Peter struggles against the men holding him, violently thrashing around.

"Let him go."

"But Tony-" Tony? No, he's Oliver-

"Just do it Steve!" Since when was there a Steve-

He feels the men loosen up their hold on him and he lunges forward at the man. He feels arms encase him as Peter punches and almost gets out of the grip when he hears, "It's okay Peter. You're safe, you're not back there." He pauses and starts to feel nauseous so he closes his eyes tightly. "Just listen to my voice kiddo, it's me, Tony. You're right here in the Compound, okay?"

Peter opens his eyes slowly and sees the room, the lounge room, and looks at the man holding him.

"T-Tony?.."

"Yeah kiddo, it's just me." He says cautiously, hugging him firmly.

He feels the floodgates break and he starts sobbing, holding onto Tony with everything he has. "It's okay, you're safe." Tony mumbles, rubbing Peter's back very lightly. Peter presses his face into Tony's shoulder and cries harder.

They sit on the ground for a long time, just holding one-another as Peter cries.

 

After a while, Peter pulls away and looks into Tony's eyes. "Th-thanks.." He whispers, leaning back into his arms. Tony wraps his arms securely around the boy's shoulders and under his legs, pulling him up into his arms as he stands. It's a bit rough on his back, but Peter is way lighter than he should be so it's not as hard as it would normally be.

"It's okay Peter. Just rest," Tony mumbles, pressing the boy closer to his chest as they leave the room. Peter snuggles into his hold and keeps his eyes closed as Tony walks them.. somewhere.

"Where're we goin'?.." Peter asks softly.

"To bed, kid." A nod against his chest.

 

They enter the elevator and exit it approximately two minutes later, up on Tony's- no longer private- floor. Aunt May's, and Peter's bedrooms (respectively) are just across the hall from Tony's to keep them close. FRIDAY opens Peter's door and Tony walks in, the boy lying in his arms tiredly.

Tony puts the kid on his bed and sits beside him. "I'm sorry." Peter mumbles against the blankets, tears glistening in his eyes. Tony pushes the hair out of Peter's eyes with a gentle smile.

"It's okay kid, we'll get through this together, as a team. Okay?" Tony proposes, cupping Peter's cheek lovingly. Peter's face brightens and he nods, blinking the tears to fall down the sides of his face; some get caught in his ear and he grimaces. Tony chuckles, wiping the tears from Peter's face. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Peter goes quiet, before shrugging, something he'd started doing after becoming a bit closed off from them all.

"Do you.. know what triggered it?" Tony asks carefully, keeping his hand on Peter's face in comfort. Peter stays silent for a moment and then nods.

"P-Pepper wears heels.. doesn't she?" Tony nods and Peter exhales shakily. "T-the girl... who..." He clears his throat and Tony nods again, knowing what he's referring to; Peter continues. "Well she.. She wore heels, and the hallways echoed. So I could..." He swallows tightly, coughing afterwards. "I could always hear when she was coming to the room.."

Tony sighs softly, silently fuming at how those people broke his boy.. his boy? When did he start referring to Peter as his?

"I'm sorry, it's stupid.." Peter recoils, thinking Tony's silence as one of disappointment.

"No, no Peter," Tony says pulling Peter closer to him. "None of that was your fault. It was all on those sick bastards.."  _And me,_ goes unsaid. Peter hears it anyway.

"It's not your fault either Tony," Peter says with such conviction that Tony kinda believes him. He tousles Peter's hair with a small smile.

"Okay kiddo."

"Stay until I fall asleep?" Peter asks hesitantly, not wanting to be alone.

"Of course Peter, now- sleep." He presses a kiss to Peter's hairline and waits until his breathing has evened out to even think about leaving.

 

Pepper doesn't wear heels around the Compound anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *42°F = 6°C ;)
> 
> [My Tumblr!](https://holykingwasteland.tumblr.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> Second chapter is up!! Enjoy friendos!~


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